Nepal, like most other countries is culturally diverse. Nepal is named for the Katmandu Valley, where the capital was established in the late eighteenth century. The Nepalese culture is a fusion of Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Mongolian influences with a long history of migration and trade. The country is roughly the size of Nebraska, which makes it the 94th largest country in the world by size, but 41st largest in population ("Compare The United States To Nepal," 2017). The country has fourteen main spoken languages, with Nepali being the official and most common, but more than 50 languages exist. There are four main religions in Nepal, but the overwhelming majority of Nepalese people are Hindus, with Buddhist coming in a distant second. The …show more content…
In 2008 nationwide elections were held and Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic and the monarchy was abolished. Since then the government has changed hands between parties and has been completely dissolved more than once. Since 2014 a coalition government has been governing with the Constituent Assembly back in power. Despite the political unrest, Nepalese continue to have a strong sense of national identity and national pride. The majority of Nepalese practice either Hinduism or Buddhism, but Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism, Bon, ancestor worship, and animism exists within the country. “Buddha is widely worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus of Nepal” ("Culture of Nepal," 2017). Buddhists worship the five Dhyani Buddhas; Vairochana, Akshobhoya, Rathasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi; which represent the five basic elements: earth, fire, water, air, and ether. Bajrayogini and Vajrayana are deities worshipped by both Buddhist and Hindus. Nepalis Hindus worship the ancient Vedic gods. Belief in ghosts, spirits, and witchcraft is widespread, which is especially common in rural areas. The misfortunes of individuals is often believed to be caused by spiteful witches and angry ghosts. Nepal occupies a special place in both the Hindu and Buddhist religions, according to mythology the Himalayas are the abode of the gods, specifically associated with Shiva. The holiest sites in Nepal
Hinduism, Buddhism and Shinto, while vast in differences there is much to learn about these three religions similarities as well. Some facts and history of Hinduism include, Hinduism (being the oldest of the three) is dated back in pre-history before 10000 BC even believed to predate the Indus River Valley Civilization! The Vedas (the holy text of Hinduism) is the foundation for Indian culture and also the basic belief system of Hinduism. The basic belief structure of Hinduism is as follows, the three doctrines; Samsara (1) which means “successive rebirths” indicating the belief in reincarnation started by ATMA or the spark of life given by the god Brahma. This cycle continues until the soul collects enough good Karma (2) to break from the
Until 2008 Nepal has been under the rule of a royal monarchy. The monarchy reigned from 1768 until 2008 when the democratic republic form of government, as it is today, was formed. Nepal has bilateral relations with the U.S. and is a strategic foothold between China, its neighbor to the north, and India its neighbor to the south. The governed area of Nepal is 56, 827 square miles. Kathmandu is the country’s capital as well as the center for government rule.
Another distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism is their concepts of deity. Although Hinduism claims to be a monotheistic religion, worshiping only Brahma Nerguna, Hindus worship 33 million other gods that are aspects of Brahma Nerguna. Some of the most common gods or aspects are Ganesha, Vishnu, and Shiva. Ganesha is the god of good luck, Vishnu is the god of families, health, and children, and Shiva is the destroyer. Buddhism has different branches that seem to contradict its original teachings. Some Buddhists worship Buddha, while the remainder of Buddhist think of Buddha as just a man and follow his teachings.
There are some people who believe in Buddhism or idol gods. They worship things such as a Bald Eagle, golden calf which is made out of gold, and some believes in witchcraft. Buddhism or Hinduism people have cards that they might turn over and the cards might have some evil or thing to watch for on it and people believes this. They might have an egg and crack the egg to see what will come
In the video “Into Nepal – A Journey through the Kathmandu Valley,” there were many concepts that were easily recognizable due to the information that was given during the first semester of the AP Human Geography course.
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that is very much a part of the people in India and Nepal. It has over 900 million followers worldwide and it is considered one of the oldest religions in the world, dating back many thousands of years. This religion is split into many different branches because of their belief in many gods and goddesses. Each branch worships a different god that they view as “supreme above all others.” Granted that they had a great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, they were able to change the world, and more specifically the United States. His philosophical ideas inspired our country to fight for equality. But in order to understand this better, it is important to have a deeper understanding of the Hinduism beliefs.
Located 150km west of the capital of Nepal (Kathmandu), the Gorkha district of Nepal is home to 271,000 (2011) and covers an approximate area of 3,610 square kilometers (ncthakur, 2011). Figure 2 clearly shows the Gorkha district of Nepal.
Since the beginning of civilization many religions and cultures have come and gone. One of the few that has stood the test of time is Hinduism. Hinduisms base flourishes from the practical view of human life, belief in eternal truth and it’s ability to make small adaptations to it without compromising its core values. Hinduism is the oldest known religion in the world and also the third largest in the world. Most of its one billion followers live in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Even with its immense amount of followers and lengthy existence, many non followers are unaware of its history, beliefs, and practices.
Hinduism is commonly thought of as the world’s oldest religion. There are approximately one billion Hindus worldwide. The vast majority live in India, although there are large populations of Hindus in South Asia, United States, Australia, Western Europe, and Canada. Hindus recognize a supreme being that can exist in copious different forms and identities and several local deities as well. Some of the important deities include Vishnu, Shiva and Shiva’s consort. Vishnu is a God that has been depicted to have arrived on Earth in both the forms of a human and an animal. It has been said that his purpose was to
Hinduism is considered by many to be the oldest religion in the world that is still in practice today. Followers of the Hindu religion, called Hindus, make up the third largest religion in existence. Hinduism is mostly a polytheistic religion, meaning that most Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses, although some sects of Hinduism do believe that there is one supreme deity. Hindus traditionally have four life goals: moksa, dharma, artha, and karma. Like most religions, Hinduism has spread to the West. With this expansion of religion comes the use of sacred religious gods and symbols in Western pop culture. Many times, the use of Hindu religious symbols by non-Hindu Westerners is culturally appropriating and unnecessary. However, other times what some consider to be culturally appropriating is not so at all to others.
The necessity for a global language has always existed to break down the barriers between nations and for communication to create a sense of a global community. English is quickly filling that niche, and instruction in English as a second language is expanding worldwide to places such as Nepal. Nepal is a land locked country located in Southern Asia bordered by China in the north and India in the south, east, and west with varying geographical areas, from high mountains to low lying plains (Weinberg, 61). The implementation of the instruction of English
Hinduism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity developed centuries ago and have been practiced since then to today. Groups of people who practice these religions are bound to the conventional norms, beliefs, cultures and way of life of each. Each religion has a particular faith in a supreme being (Woodhead, Partridge & Kawanami, 2016). Muslims believe in Allah, Christians believe in Jesus Christ, Hindus believe in multiple Gods (Coomaraswamy, 2011) and Buddhism follower’s belief in various Gods and their enlightened priests especially the "most high priests" Buddha Almond, P. C. (2007). All these religions regard their places of which as sacred places which
Religion is very important for many individuals as it meets different needs for people and societies; human beings seek purpose in their lives and religion gives many people that purpose. Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, although the origin is difficult to trace due to it not having a specific founder, it is known that it originated in the Indus Valley and dates back more than four thousand years. Today, Hinduism has become the third largest religion after Christianity and Islam with an estimated amount of 950 million followers which is about 14 percent of the world's population. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2015 they conducted a study that estimated 2.23 million Hindus live in the United States and today, Hinduism remains
The Hindu religion and culture is a very complex subject. The Hindu religion combines rich ethnical and standard beliefs. We will take a closer look and try to understand the Hindu religion and culture. The Hindu religion is the oldest religion of the five major religions, which are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (Major World Religions, 2006). The Hindu religion began to develop about 4.000 years ago in India, but it there was no single founder or system of belief (Major World Religions, 2006). There are many diverse and various Gods in the Hindu religion. One of the most important beliefs is the theory of karma, which holds that all beings, human or animal have karma which determines which soul is for which body and
Furthermore, the people of India are governed by one central authority and have one Prime Minister, President, Supreme Court, and Army Chief. Hinduism is the main religion practiced in India; however, there are followers of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, and Parsees. The people of India practice different religions but majority of them believe in the theory of Dharma and Karma. This theory includes salvation, rebirth, purification the soul, good for good, and bad for bad. Furthermore, the people of India come together to celebrate festivals and cultural celebrations. Even Indian philosophy contributes to the idea that India is “a Unity in Diversity.” There is difference in the overall conceptions of gods and ways of worshipping but Indians still maintain the fear of heaven and hell. Many ethics groups coexist in India as well. However, within each ethnic group, views on rituals, marriage, and castes remain the same. Also, many languages are spoken in India, but Sanskrit still maintains